Intimate Rockville Courthouse Wedding: Katy + Julien

07/09/14posted by julianne

When it comes to finding the perfect wedding inspiration for some gorgeous courthouse marrying, look no further than this beautiful day captured by Amber Wilkie Photography. Katy and Julien had an intimate courthouse wedding ceremony in Rockville and later headed to the C&O canal for romantic portraits before sharing a meal with their nearest and dearest at Restaurant Nora. Can you believe that the peony bridal bouquet was made by the bride herself!?

From Katy: After having lived in Paris for three years, Julien and I valued the idea of simple elegance for our wedding, not to mention very good food. We really wanted the wedding to have few moving parts because I was just finishing my first year of grad school, and we had little time or budget with which to plan. Our “vision” for the day was not at all specific, though I knew I wanted some nice crisp spring colors, May being one of my favorite months. Those nice colors came through in the bouquet and Julien’s attire, as well as our beautiful guests.

While everyone was waiting in the courthouse lobby for the ceremony to begin, we handed out little French and American flags. It was a funny little personal touch to ease last minute nervousness!

I decided pretty early on that I’d make my own bouquet, and I chose a flower that was full and elegant enough to stand alone– peonies. Simple bouquets with just one, two or three different kinds of flowers are easy enough to assemble yourself, and if you have a good flower wholesaler nearby, you can save a lot.

Katy’s wedding planning advice for other DC-area couples:

For couples interested in a very small and low stress wedding, just pick a few important aspects to focus on, don’t worry too much about the rest. The DC area has a rich variety of venues for all different budgets. Choosing an elegant venue reduces the need to decorate yourself. That said, don’t go overboard on “doing it yourself.” Your sanity also has a price!

Thank you so much Katy and Julien for sharing your wedding with us! The following Washington DC area wedding professionals contributed to their wedding: